Overview

With airy, light-filled rooms that double as mini art galleries, Budapest’s Brody House hotel is a feast for the senses. Popular with the city's art scene, this cutting-edge townhouse plays host to film and fashion shoots, while somehow maintaining the feel of a historic home. Brody House also has a block of shabby-chic apartments in a lively downtown locale (close to the main hotel), a trendy members- and guests-only bar, and gallery and printing studio Brody ArtYard, where frequent exhibitions and book readings are held.

Facilities

Need To Know

Rooms

Check–out

Rates

More details

Rates include access to Brody House’s members’ club rooms and events, but usually don't include Continental buffet breakfast (€8 a person).

Also

Guests are given access to the Brody House members’ club evenings; previous events include an ‘art tasting dinner’ with glass sculptors Maria Bohus and Zoltan Lugosi, and a ‘creative discussion about Rupert Murdoch’.

At the hotel

Club rooms, selection of CDs and DVDs to borrow. In rooms: free WiFi, Pascal Morabito toiletries. Brody members' club and bar, and Brody ArtYard are both a 15-minute walk away; ask at reception for the clubs' entry code.

Our favourite rooms

Because each room is decorated in such an individual style, it’s almost impossible to choose a favourite, but perhaps the most romantic choice for a couple is the Tinei room, with its glamorous freestanding golden bath and works by Moldovan artist (and Budapest resident) Alexander Tinei. The largest space is the two-bedroom Yusuke Apartment, which has its own lounge and fully equipped kitchen.

Packing tips

Your camera, sketch book or art materials of choice. From the works on the walls to the recycled, reclaimed, rebuilt and reprinted furniture and decor throughout – and the palaces beyond your townhouse walls – there’s plenty here to inspire you.

Also

In-room massages and beauty treatments are available; the hotel can also arrange visits to Budapest's best spas.

Children

Welcome. Baby cribs are free and extra beds for under-12s are available for €25 a night. Babysitting can be provided by staff or local nannies for €10 an hour; a week’s notice is appreciated.

Food & Drink

Hotel Restaurant

None. Staff can prepare sandwiches and plates with cold cuts and cheese during the day. Nearby Brody House Studios, a seven-minute drive away, serves classic sandwiches, generous salads and hearty meals such as pancetta-wrapped pork loin and four cheese risotto.

Hotel Bar

Mix your own drinks round the clock at the honesty bar, or go teetotal at the free tea bar. Head to Brody House Studios to get a taste of Budapest's buzzing art scene: open Wednesday to Saturday, its cocktail bar and club play hosts to openings, pop-up shops and literary dinners, as well as live jazz and DJ sets.

Last orders

The Continental breakfast buffet is served 7.30am–11am. Brody Studios is open for brunching and lunching from 9am, Tuesday to Friday; cocktails are shaken up until 2am, Thursday to Saturday.

Room service

Sandwiches, muffins and hot drinks can be delivered to your room 8am–8pm.

Smith Insider

Dress code

Anything goes: creativity rules, not glamour. If you fancy becoming a walking part of the hotel’s ever-changing art exhibition, pick up a limited-edition silkscreen-printed t-shirt from nearby studio and gallery Brody ArtYard.

Top table

In summer, the enchanting central courtyard is a pleasingly quiet place in which to snack. (It’s also a ideal for a secluded alfresco drink, unlike Budapest’s fun but often crowded kertek, the outdoor garden bars.)

Local Guide

Worth getting out of bed for

Brody ArtYard (a 15-minute walk away on Vasvári Pál Utca) is the hotel's print studio and gallery, hosting exhibitions by contemporary artists; private views here are lively, and after parties go on till late. If you tire of admiring the art on the walls and loitering with the locals in the hotel's club rooms, talk to the staff: they’ll be thrilled to put together a customised itinerary for you, taking in their hand-picked Budapest highlights. A major attraction in the City of Spas is a trip to the historic Turkish baths, of which there are dozens; Brody House staff can arrange visits to several, including neo-Baroque Széchenyi on Állatkerti Körút (www.szechenyibath.com). If you like shopping for art and antiques, nearby Falk Miksa Utca is the street to visit; head out alone or take a guided tour (in English): they’re available year round (www.falkart.hu). Modern art gallery, shop, studio and café Printa on Rumbach Sebestyén Utca puts many of its limited-edition print designs onto clothes, cushions, aprons, etc, in their silkscreen studio; they’re also rumoured to serve Budapest’s best coffee (www.printa.hu/main). The somewhat surreal Memento Park on Balatoni Út is worth a visit by history buffs: the collection of preserved Communist statues that used to dot the Budapest landscape gives an insight into an era that’s gone but not forgotten (www.szoborpark.hu).

Local restaurants

Near the hotel, Mák Bistro on Vigyázó Ferenc Utca boasts high ceilings, an award-winning chef and first-class Hungarian cuisine (www.makbistro.hu/en/main; +36 30 723 9383). Just across the river on the Buda side of town, Pierrot on Fortuna Utca is housed in an historic 13th-century building and has a courtyard that’s delightful in summer; in colder weather, request a table by the bar (www.pierrot.hu; +36 (1) 375 6971). A few doors down, tuck in to typical Hungarian dishes in the cosy, relaxed 21 (www.21restaurant.hu; +36 (1) 202 2113). For cooking that’s even more traditional, visit Pest Buda on the same street, and imagine that you’re feasting on your Hungarian grandmother’s comfort food (www.pestbudabistro.hu; +36 (1) 225 0377).

Local bars

Snack on cheese and sausage with local wine pre-dinner or grab a post-prandial drink at Innio on Október 6 Utca, a very cool modern space with vaulted ceilings, raw cement walls and a DJ managing the music in the corner (www.innio.hu; +36 70 311 1010). Boutiq’Bar on Paulay Ede Utca is a great place to start the night, with bona fide mixologists behind the bar (www.boutiqbar.hu; +36 30 229 1821).

Local cafés

Tuck in to coffee and cake at Gerbeaud on Vörösmarty Tér; it’s one of the city’s best loved confectioners (www.gerbeaud.hu; +36 (1) 429 9000). Less than ten minutes away by foot on Károlyi Mihály Utca is the grand dame of Budapest coffeehouses, Central, which serves elaborate sweet treats and elegantly presented savoury dishes, along with a hefty slice of Hungarian heritage (www.centralkavehaz.hu; +36 (1) 30 382 3357). Also nearby is Gerloczy Cafe and Restaurant on Gerloczy Utca; it’s a traditional Hungarian bistro that makes a cosy, laid-back setting for lunch or a snack (www.gerloczy.hu/cafe_and_restaurant; +36 (1) 501 4000). Another Pest-side favourite is Tom George on Október 6, a nautical-themed restaurant with a lively atmosphere and an American-influenced Italian menu (www.tomgeorge.hu; +36 (1) 266 3525). For a mid-shopping lunch in the centre of town, Baldaszti's Grand on Andrássy Út is ideal; on the menu are Hungarian and European dishes (www.baldasztis.com; +36 (1) 302 3691).

Brody House

Brody House is enviably situated on a grand square in the palace quarter on the Pest side of town, not far from the Danube; its neighbours are historic mansions and a former parliament building.

Planes

Touch down at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (still known locally by its former name, Ferihegy), which is a 20-minute drive from Brody House (www.bud.hu/english).

Trains

One of Budapest’s three international train stations, Keleti is two minutes from Brody House by car. The train journey from Berlin takes just under 12 hours, Prague’s seven hours away and Vienna can be reached in less than three.

Automobiles

There’s no parking at the hotel, so you’ll want to drop off your luggage and check in before leaving your car at the Pollack Mihaly carpark 50m away.

Reviews

Anonymous review

We have booked three nights in Budapest, and the truth is, neither of us knows what to expect. Except, having checked the weather forecast, it turns out Hungary is going to be hot. Our friends, clearly imagining us off on a Moscow-style short break, all stoic and freezing, are wrong. It is early May and Hungary is boiling. Arriving 9pm, the warm-aired optimism kicks in straight from the plane. We …

Brody House

Anonymous review by Gemma Cairney, Airwave surfer

We have booked three nights in Budapest, and the truth is, neither of us knows what to expect. Except, having checked the weather forecast, it turns out Hungary is going to be hot. Our friends, clearly imagining us off on a Moscow-style short break, all stoic and freezing, are wrong. It is early May and Hungary is boiling. Arriving 9pm, the warm-aired optimism kicks in straight from the plane. We get a cab to our temporary home, Brody House, and the 40-minute journey only costs 5,743 Forints (yep, the Hungarian currency has turned us into big-balling thousandaires), equivalent to €20.

Landing at a gigantic wooden door down a quiet but central road, we are just a couple hundred metres from the Hungarian Natural History Museum. A titchy plaque on the buzzer says ‘Brody House’. There’s no sign of what it is like beyond. Soon we are welcomed by a sun-kissed smiling face who informs us, as we scurry inside, that there is an electrical problem with the original bedroom we booked. The building is incredibly old and listed, so to paraphrase the words of our new friend, getting things fixed here can be a right, well, arse-ache. The good news is that she’s put us in a snazzier suite called the Claret Room.

We’ve been here less than 10 minutes and we are already lusting for Brody. The sweeping dimly lit staircase leading us up to reception is enchanting in itself. The vastness hits you straight away: a ceiling so high you become a happy Borrower; and the walls are unapologetically distressed. The setting wouldn’t look out of place as the opening scene of a Molière play. Beware though. If you wear stilettos (oh, and Brody will make you want to), or should you fill your mouth with too much Bull’s Blood (a traditional Hungarian wine) you could rather too easily fall down these very stairs. They make you breathy and excited. As does the discreet flipbook that you’ll find in the lounge hidden among various coffee-table hardbacks. Among this portfolio of press cuttings about the hotel is page after page of fashion shoot with BH as the backdrop – the Tinei Room has even been the scene for a fully nude and supersexy Playboy centrefold.

And so, to the Claret Room. Along a fabulous glassed corridor (yep, even the hallways are great) overlooking a courtyard, we find ourselves ejected like an old cassette tape out of our ‘London headspace’ and, in the ever-truthful Cumbrian words of Mr Smith, into ‘the nicest room I think I’ve ever seen’. It’s all white and mind balancing – it would only be right to run the Jacuzzi bath exposed in the corner of the room. Though it does involve a tightrope-balancing act round the edge to get to the actual tap, not so practical when there is lava-hot water beneath. It prompts us to cement our ‘Budapest song’ while waiting for it to cool down. Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ bellows, from our laptop and we dance around the Claret like the sleep-deprived but chuffed souls we are, before nearly falling asleep drinking one beer in the steaming corner bath…

The next morning, we look at Brody and we are still into it. It wasn’t a delirious one-night thing. In the sunlight, it still looks sexy. We delightedly eat fruit salad from a bountiful selection and order a fresh smoothie and eggs Benedict on top of what’s on offer, happly to pay the supplement. Who cares – we’re in love. Our original room still hasn’t been fixed so we are moved to the equivalent rank room – not quite as spangly as the Claret Room.

All rooms at Brody are decorated differently: our abode for the remaining two nights is a mini apartment called the Yusuke, which is accessed via the central courtyard. It’s replete with kitchenette, DVD player and mezzanine. While it’s not as luxurious it can be applauded for niftiness and privacy; and when faced with a kitchen, Brody suddenly becomes a potential longer-term affair. ‘Ooh we could come here for a week,’ I think to myself as I look out at the other doors accessed also via the courtyard; I am by now picturing all my best friends staying behind them… My imagination then patters towards what an ideal spot it’d be for a party. It seems I’m not the only one… Our smily hotel host friend tells of a German stag party that booked nearly every room recently and how they all got a little ‘wild’. I was secretly thinking more of a brass band and wedding-type fandango – Brody’s surroundings really are that lovely. But hey? It’s good to know that Brody isn’t opposed to a proper knees-up.

As for Budapest itself, the main thing that you need to know is that it’s split in two by a river. One side is Buda and the other Pest. Both are gorgeous, historic and everyone walks everywhere. We spend each day doing exactly this, sauntering about. Plus we have a choice of eight thermal pool spas dating back to the 16th century – where you’re encouraged to sit about in the sunshine or splash about warm water like contented baby elephants. It’s brilliant. We visited the most popular Hotel Gellért one day and couldn’t resist trying the Szechenyi Bath and Spa the next. Think ‘faded glamour’ rather than ‘princess pampering’. Bring flip-flops, a book and maybe smuggle a picnic if you’re planning the whole day there: food is definitely not a highlight. But back to Brody: it is outstanding. And it’s a wonder Budapest has so undeservedly alluded my attentions until now. But sshhhhhhh. Keep this hotel to yourself please, it is partly so wonderful because it feels like your own very cool, and quite naughty, secret.

The Guestbook

Reviews of Brody House from Smith members

Whenever you book a stay through us, we’ll invite you to comment when you get back. Read the Guestbook entries below to see what real-life Mr & Mrs Smiths have said about this hotel…

Sinead

BlackSmith

Stayed on
13 Dec 2014

We loved

Wonderful service and quirky style - thanks for a great stay!

Rating:
10/10 stars

Beatrice

BlackSmith

Stayed on
25 Nov 2014

We loved

We loved Brody House and Brody Studios, just our kind off place, interesting and fun, spacious and far more private than the 'institutional' feel of a hotel. Service and help all around without being obstrusive, as well as very welcoming.

Don’t expect

The self help bar could also keep some tidbits for the guest to buy optionally. A couple of nights we were too exhausted to go to dinner and loved sitting by the fire with a drink, but it would have been great if we had a tiny bite of something. Though there are complementary dishes of crisps etc.. Maybe some small packaged snacks in their fridge would be nice.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Mark

BlackSmith

Stayed on
21 Nov 2014

We loved

Warm friendly atmosphere, very knowledgeable and helpful staff. Good location.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Cameron

BlackSmith

Stayed on
21 Nov 2014

We loved

The whole place is beautiful and the staff were fantastic.

Rating:
10/10 stars

David

BlackSmith

Stayed on
19 Nov 2014 No

We loved

Funky, clever designs, relaxed, great staff and location.

Don’t expect

Not good for elderly/disabled as a lot of stairs and no lift.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Michael

BlackSmith

Stayed on
14 Nov 2014

We loved

Very cool and original space close to the city centre, a real find. Breakfasts incredible and an amazing bar.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Sarah

SilverSmith

Stayed on
24 Oct 2014

We loved

The hotel is incredibly chic, and our suite was enormous. There is a lovely courtyard and a spacious bar. Excellent breakfast, an honesty bar, and kitchen facilities in the suite. It's centrally placed, and if you like walking you can do the whole of Buda and Pest on foot. If you avoid tourist traps like Gerbeau (same prices as London) it's all incredibly cheap.

Don’t expect

The weather had suddenly deteriorated so it was a bit cold in the suite.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Paul

BlackSmith

Stayed on
17 Oct 2014

We loved

The grand winding staircase, gorgeous courtyard, the warm welcome, the carefully explained workings of the hotel, the beautifully decorated and furnished rooms, the cleanliness, the continental breakfast spread, the menu options, the honesty bar. P.S, when you are done with the speakers in the honesty bar room I would like them thanks!

Rating:
10/10 stars

Iris

BlackSmith

Stayed on
4 Sep 2014

We loved

We liked the unique rooms and the whole building! The super friendly staff that were willing to go the extra mile and the art that was everywhere. There was no tv and all that unnecessary equipment in the room, which was nice.

Don’t expect

There were no elevators so you have to carry your luggage up and down the steps.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Ann

BlackSmith

Stayed on
25 Aug 2014

We loved

Brody House was a fabulous, quirky art hotel with extremely friendly and helpful staff. Our 16 year old son stayed with us in the Print suite, which was perfect, as the futon sofa bed was set up for him( he is 6ft 6ins tall, which was fine for him) the suite has a very long corridor which led to our bedroom, so everyone had space and privacy. There was so much to see and discover in the hotel and we would have been quite happy to have stayed in, our entire visit, the only problem was that we have never been to Budapest before so had to go out to see the sights (which were also spectacular)! The laid back feel of the hotel was lovely and we will definitely return. It's a one off! It's only a shame there isn't somewhere like it in London.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Will

BlackSmith

Stayed on
8 May 2014

We loved

Amazing cich hotel with great staff and a lovely atmosphere.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Hilary

SilverSmith

Stayed on
5 May 2014

We loved

The location of Brody House is fantastic. It's in the heart of Pest with superb restaurants, shopping and nightlife nearby but, once inside the beautiful building, it is a serene haven. It's impossibly elegant and quirky; we will definitely be back.

Don’t expect

The breakfast was tasty but perhaps over-priced.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Kelly

BlackSmith

Stayed on
18 Apr 2014

We loved

I loved the simply cool and calm surroundings, amazing atmosphere and great service.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Luca

BlackSmith

Stayed on
11 Apr 2014

We loved

I loved the style of the house. The staff, in particular Szilvia, was very kind and helpfull. They gave us many suggestions on restaurants and places to see.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Caitlin

BlackSmith

Stayed on
20 Mar 2014

We loved

The welcome was friendly and helpful, and our room was lovely and quiet. The communal area and breakfast rooms were spacious and it felt like a oasis of peace and calm when relaxing with a gin and tonic after a full day of walking around Budapest taking in the beauty of this amazing city. Our stay at Brody House was perfect.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Marie

BlackSmith

Stayed on
6 Mar 2014

We loved

The staff is amazing and so helpful. The rooms are fantastic – all so different but brilliant. It's perfect.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Katya

SilverSmith

Stayed on
17 Feb 2014

We loved

I loved the setting of the château, with its cosy and stylish décor. The meals prepared every day were a good match to any top restaurant in London made with fresh ingredients and love. I also loved going for a run in the fields by the river and coming back for a dip in the pool, followed by a freshly cooked breakfast. The best part about the place is the love and passion the owners have for welcoming you in their home. That is how it feels - a home. It would be impossible to wish for anything more this is one of the best places I stayed at and the hosts make the experience unforgettable.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Abigail

BlackSmith

Stayed on
1 Nov 2013

We loved

I liked the cool and quirky decor, beautifully designed rooms and courtyard area and the extremely helpful reception staff; nothing was too much to ask for and they helped make our short stay fantastic with excellent restaurant recommendations. Brody House was a stylish oasis of calm tucked away down a quiet street, yet only a short walk from the sights and sounds of the city.

Don’t expect

We arrived in the dark and our airport taxi got us to the right street, but we then walked up and down a couple of times before spotting the very discreet sign for Brody House on the wall.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Francis

BlackSmith

Stayed on
29 Aug 2013

We loved

It's centrally sited, has ecclectic rooms, an honesty bar, and helpful staff in a great city.

Don’t expect

A lift would be better.

Rating:
7/10 stars

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (excluding tax) available in the next {dayrange} days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency ({currency}{rate_ex}), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.